Container with closure



Jan. 25, 1966 T. c. J. TIMGREN CONTAINER WITH CLOSURE Filed Feb. 15, 1963 FIG. 2

FIG.1

FIG. 3

United States Patent 3,231,122 CONTAINER WITH CLOSURE Torsti Carl Johan Timgren, Helsinki, Finland, assignor to Lever Brothers Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Filed Feb. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 258,871 Claims priority, application Finland, Feb. 16, 1962, 329/62 2 Claims. (Cl. 21541) The present invention relates to a container with a closure, particularly, to an arrangement in which the closure is secured to a neck of the container by means of ribs or the like formed on opposing surfaces of the neck and the closure.

In such an assembly, for example a bottle and a cap, the ribs or the like are often constituted by screw threads.

A threaded closure has the disadvantage that it is easily unfastened. A snap closure, which might be used to overcome this disadvantage, involves the difficulty that when the co-operating closure elements are forced into engagement with each other, the wall of the container may collapse under the force exercised when, for economical reasons, such wall is not made thicker than is necessary for its normal function; this is particularly the case with containers of thermoplastic material. This difficulty is especially encountered with automatic sealing machines.

The present invention is concerned with providing a container and closure in which the above disadvantages are reduced or overcome.

According to the present invention there is provided a container with a closure, the closure being secured to a neck of the container by means of ribs or the like formed on opposing surfaces of the neck and the closure and engaging one behind the other, the ribs or the like being so shaped and positioned that, if the closure is pushed on to the neck within a range of certain relative positions of the neck to the closure, the said ribs or the like are capable of passing each other due to elastic deformation while contacting each other only locally and progressively along their lengths.

The neck or the closure can be flexible or made of flexible material to allow said elastic deformation. Preferably, both the neck and the closure are made of flexible material so that both can contribute to said elastic deformation.

By turning the closure relative to the neck after it has thus been applied, a locked position can be obtained in which, as viewed axially, the ribs are opposed along a large portion of their longitudinal extent, so that a much larger deformation would be required to force the ribs or the like over each other again to remove the closure Whilst in this locked position.

The ribs preferably form closed rings located in planes at least one of which is inclined relative to the direction of the axis of the neck or the closure. If the planes containing the pairwise co-operating ribs or the like have substantially equal angles of inclination relative to the direction of the axis, the closure can be so turned relative to the neck after the ribs or the like have been snapped over each other, that these planes are parallel. In this position, the closure can practically no longer be pulled 0E, since this would require simultaneous deformation of the ribs or the like along their entire lengths extending around the neck.

The profile of a co-operating pair of ribs or the like is preferably such that the ribs engage each other more positively in the locked position than in the position before they are forced over each other.

The closure is preferably a cap.

According to another aspect of the invention there is 3,231,122 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 ICC provided a container with a closure cap, the container having a neck around the outside of which is a rib form ing a ring in a plane which is inclined with respect to the axis of the neck, the closure cap having a similar rib on the inside, the plane of this similar rib being similarly inclined to the axis of the cap, the arrangement being such that when the closure cap is orientated relative to the neck so that the planes of their ribs are oppositely inclined, then the closure cap can readily be pushed on to the neck with the two ribs deformably engaging each other at two points, the closure cap then being rotatable to a position in which its rib engages below and along substantially the entire length of the rib of the neck.

By way of example, an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in elevation a bottle-neck and a closure-cap before the closure-cap is applied;

FIGURE 2 shows in elevation, partly sectioned, the closure-cap being applied; and 1 FIGURE 3 shows a similar view to FIGURE 2 but with the closure-cap in the locked position.

In this embodiment, the invention is applied to a bottle and closure-cap. Around the bottle-neck 1 of flexible synthetic material, such as thermoplastic material, extends an endless rib 2. The rib 2 forms a ring disposed in a plane inclined relative to the axis of the bottle-neck. At the inner circumference of the closure-cap, which is made of similar material, a similar rib 4 is formed. In order to apply the closure-cap 3 to the bottle-neck 1, the closurecap is placed in such a position relative to the bottle-neck that the planes containing the ribs 2 and 4 are not parallel, preferably in the position in which the angles of inclination of these planes are just opposite, as shown in FIG- URE 1. When the cap 3 is slipped on to the bottle-neck 1, the ribs 2 and 4 will only contact each other locally, and will easily be deformed and make way for each other at the points of contact, so that the closure-cap can be forced on to the bottle-neck without much effort.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a position in which the ribs have already partly passed each other. In this figure the closure-cap is already in its lowermost position. By turning the cap, the position according to FIGURE 3 is obtained, .in which the ribs 2 and 4 engage each other over their full lengths and firmly retain the closure-cap 3 on the bottle-neck 1.

It is also possible to choose the axial dimensions so that the ribs can be moved entirely over each other by axial movement only of the closure-cap as this is being applied, the closure-cap being turned only then to its locked position.

The rib 4 has at its lower side a bevelled profile edge; at the upper side, however, a profile edge at right-angles to the direction of the axis of the bottle is provided. The upper and lower sides of the rib 2 are also substantially at right-angles to the direction of the axis of the bottle. This arrangement facilitates the application of the closurecap and also renders it more diiiicult to pull the closurecap off again.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a container and closure cap, said container having a neck, a rib around the outside of the neck forming a first endless ring in a plane inclined at an acute angle relative to the axis of the neck, a closure cap, a rib on the inside of the closure cap forming a second endless ring in a plane inclined to the axis of said cap at about the same angle as said plane of first ring to the axis of said neck, at least one of said neck and closure cap being flexible so that when the closure cap is oriented relative to the neck and the planes of their ribs are oppositely incline-d, the closure cap can be pushed on to the neck with the two ribs progressively 3 engaging each other at two points, at least one of said ribs having a chamferred edge to facilitate pushing of said cap onto said neck, said closure cap being rotatable to a position in which its rib engages below and along substantially the entire length of the rib of the neck to retain said closure cap on said neck.

2. In combination, a container and a closure, said container having a neck, a first rib in the form of an endless ring around the outside of the neck, a closure cap. a second rib in the form of an endless ring around the inside of the closure cap, the rings being inclined at substantially equal and acute angles to the axes of said neck and cap, the rib of the closure cap engaging below and along substantially the entire length of the rib of the neck in one relatively rotated position of said closure and neck to secure said cap to said neckwhile in another relatively rotated position of the closure cap and neck the ribs are inclined relatively to cross each other to enable the cap to be pushed onto and pulled off of said neck.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,752,060 6/1956 Martin 21541 3,080,991 3/1963 Fox 2l542 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION A CONTAINERR AND CLOSURE CAP, SAID CONTAINER HAVING A NECK, A RIB MOUNTED THE OUTSIDE OF THE NECK FORMING A FIRST ENDLESS RING IN A PLANE INCLINED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF THE NECK, A CLOSURE CAP, A RIB ON THE INSIDE OF THE CLOSURE CAP FORMING A SECOND ENDLESS RING IN A PLANE INCLINED TO THE AXIS OF SAID CAP AT ABOUT THE SAME ANGLE AS SAID PLANE OF FIRST RING TO THE AXIS OF SAID NECK, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID NECK AND CLOSURE CAP BEING FLEXIBLE SO THAT WHEN THE CLOSURE CAP IS ORIENTED RELATIVE TO THE NECK AND THE PLANES OF THEIR RIBS ARE OPPOSITELY INCLINED, THE CLOSURE CAP CAN BE PUSHED ON TO THE NECK WITH THE TWO RIBS PROGRESSIVELY ENGAGING EACH OTHER AT TWO POINTS, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID RIBS HAVING A CHAMFERRED EDGE TO FACILITATE PUSHING OF SAID CAP ONTO SAID NECK, SAID CLOSURE CAP BEING ROTATABLE TO A POSITION IN WHICH ITS RIB ENGAGES BELOW AND ALONG SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE RIB OF THE NECK TO RETAIN SAID CLOSUE CAP ON SAID NECK. 